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 the war so easy to avoid April 11, 2008
Carlos Vazquez Quintana (Linares- Spain)
Literary quality of Winston Churchill it's impossible to judge for me, as English, it's clear, isn't my mother tongue.
Only I can say Sir Winston, who had to know all facts about WW II, exposes in this book things that films of Hollywood, a main source of knowledge for people who not lived the war, never or almost have treated. Persia, the Balkans, Iraq, Greece, Gibraltar, inner problems in of British politics are episodes practically never seen in screen or even in other books.
Sir Winston had to be prudent, and I think his criteria about Spanish Civil War is debatable as the attitude of France and Britain of arms embargo to the Spanish Republic. He was divided between two opinions, but was mostly conservative and must of all he didn't wanted a communist party in Spain. He expresses more clearly his opinion about the URSS, the country ruled cruelly by a dictator, but that with no doubt defeated the German Army in ground at an enormous cost. Sir Winston I think is partial but well, he was an Englishman with serious problems. He had a surprising praise for some able military enemies and this detail suggest he was a man with a mind from a past time, as WW II wasn't Boer, Napoleonic or colonial war. That fact supposed surprise and logical criticism toward him. He obviously didn't liked Gral De Gaulle, a conflictive personality but at last a forcemul friend or at less, a valuable or unavoidable allied.
I suppose no matter the extension of this book, Sir Winston never revealed things still secret when he wrote this memoirs. I think he was a true leader, a hard man wise for war, that he knew by direct experience at sea and land, not in the air, a novelty for everybody in the decade of 1940's and there is clear every country expected things partially wrong from war aircraft, some were surpassed, some never happened.
Sir Winston perhaps was not so good as a premier for peace time. British people perceived this and chose him for the heavy burden of war task but not at end of the terrible conflagration. Finally I think Winston Churchill died however, ignoring details of the war he managed. As it were, one can like or not Winston Churchill, he could be wrong or right, but he was an human being. Nazi people didn't merited that qualification, as if a strange fever or madness would have invaded the whole Germany while Japan was a far unknown country with costumes more proper of European Middle Age not understandable for Western countries. In 1930 - 40 TV and popular travels didn't existed and that favoured a fatal lack of understanding.
Awesome October 24, 2007
Mr. A. M. Chatterton (London)
A comprehensive collection of Churchill's history of the Second World War. A fantastic combination of historical fact, 'behind the scene' views of some of the most important events of the 20th Century, all written from a typically Churchillian point of view.
If you are looking for an unbiased overview of the Second World War this won't be for you. In parts Churchill, as one might expect, highlights his greatest achievements, and has an almost 'I told you so' attitude to some aspects (especially the policy of appeasement undertaken in the 1930's). However, who are we to criticise?!
An excellent read.
A great writer and a great leader February 22, 2006
A. Gordon (London)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Winston Churchill's faults as a peace time politician have been well documented. His failings as a human being have also been pointed out. He was, by many accounts, exasperating, tireless, a control freak and he had an ego. You will get whiffs of all of that as you read this, his own abridgement of his account of the second world war. But what you will also get is the chance to sit on the man's shoulder as he directs the war, anaylyses his enemies, struggles with his own staff and fights to negotiate with Roosevelt and Stalin. Ok, it's not a comprehensive account of every aspect of the second world war, it is partly biography and does contain Winston's side of the story, but his ability and talent as a writer is amazing. You see the war through his eyes and how lucky we are that he took the time and trouble to write it all down so comprehensively. The unique perspective he gives us, explains in many cases, why things worked out the way they did. This is great taster to Churchill's talents as a writer and historian.
 A limited perspective June 3, 2005
R. A. Gupta
7 out of 16 found this review helpful
If you want a book which providing an overall perspective of WW2 - don't get this.This is really part history, part apologia and part autobiography. Churchill is naturally strong on the origins of the war, although 150 pages of "I told you so" becomes a little tiresome in the end. The prose is straightforward and generally entertaining and the description of the fall of France is top notch. Things really begin to get skewed once Russia and the States enter the war. The imbalance is extraordinary - pages are spent on quoting verbatim telgrams sent to Roosevelt or Stalin while the battle of Stalingrad is dismissed in a paragraph. While Big power conferences get a chapter or two each, there is nothing on the Home Front or on financing the war or on weapons production. Moset extraordinary of all, the holocaust is not mentioned at all. Anywhere. The effect is somewhat surreal. To take one example, in justifying the failure to open up a second front Churchill goes into a great deal of detail about the precise numbers of landing craft necessary for an invasion of northern France, how many there were in every given year and how many were needed in the Pacific or Mediterranean. The obvious question - why could more not be built is never addressed? So for a general book on WW2, look elsewhere (and if you find a good one -please let me know!). For a blow by blo account of Churchill's war, you would presumably be better off reading the unabridged version.
The Second World War by Winston Churchill February 21, 2004
Mr. D. P. Walters (UK)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
This is every bit an edge of your seat read, if it were fiction it would be up there with Lord of Rings, in both detail and length!!!This book guides you through the political and military history from the end of the First World War, which shaped the world of sanctions, trade and political will, right through to the after affects in the 1950’s. It shows where political judgement at one moment affected the future time and time again. This is interwoven with a detailed examination of the military facts, some tragic, some heroic that are the consequence of them. The style of Churchill is one of detail and plot, which makes for an easy read, allowing a solid grasp of the plot, as well as an understanding of views of all the main players, through his eyes. A fantastic read and thoroughly recommended, simply a terrible shame that it is all fact and not fiction!
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